C.A. 2024 Cigar of the year impressions

[SCgarman]

Received two of these in the mail yesterday. Lit one up last night, didn't know what to expect. Wow! A $13 cigar that really delivers complexity and is really good. Now 60 ring gauge is way out of my comfort zone, but it works and the larger ring allows for a very good complex blend. Of course none seem to be available as they are sold out everywhere. At $275/box of 23 sticks it is a pleasant surprise that good cigars can still be "affordable." There are flavor notes of wood, chocolate, mild spices and a somewhat sweet raisin type note in the first half. Cigar is medium to full flavored throughout. Definitely not a mild beginner cigar. Enjoyable nonetheless. 

[Ford2112]

[Wookie]

I’ve owned most of Garcias’ cigars, including a few boxes of The Judge. Their stuff can hit and miss but I really like The Judge blend. 

[El Presidente]

Lost me on the 60 RG. 

[Chas.Alpha]

50 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

Lost me on the 60 RG. 

Yep. 52 is the limit of my comfort zone. 

[Capn_Jackson]

I’ve enjoyed many of Garcia’s blends, but the Judge wasn’t one of them. Granted, I haven’t tried that vitola, as it’s out of my desired girth, but maybe it offers something I haven’t found in the other sizes.

[SCgarman]

37 minutes ago, Capn_Jackson said:

I’ve enjoyed many of Garcia’s blends, but the Judge wasn’t one of them. Granted, I haven’t tried that vitola, as it’s out of my desired girth, but maybe it offers something I haven’t found in the other sizes.

Yeah, I'm not a jawbreaker cigar smoker. But at $13usd/stick, ordering a couple out of curiosity hardly broke the bank. It is blended really well, a 5X48 would be a great alternative to the 60RG

[Cigar Surgeon]

Highly recommend the Le Bijou 1922 100 Anos. Outstanding release. 

[Capn_Jackson]

32 minutes ago, Cigar Surgeon said:

Highly recommend the Le Bijou 1922 100 Anos. Outstanding release. 

Love it!

[VeguerosMAN]

It is odd to me that Tatuaje has never won Cigar of the Year when it comes from the same Garcia farm. 

[Capn_Jackson]

7 hours ago, VeguerosMAN said:

It is odd to me that Tatuaje has never won Cigar of the Year when it comes from the same Garcia farm. 

But the ad money doesn’t come from the same bank account.

 

I’ll see myself out.

[SCgarman]

2 hours ago, Cigar Surgeon said:

Highly recommend the Le Bijou 1922 100 Anos. Outstanding release. 

Is this different from the regular Le Bijou 1922? Or same?

[ha_banos]

8 hours ago, Cigar Surgeon said:

Highly recommend the Le Bijou 1922 100 Anos. Outstanding release. 

38.95£!!! (49$) And 31.95£ (40$) for the judge. Which puts these firmly in line with the likes of a D4. Not even going to bother to try now. Maybe if someone is traveling from the United States.

 

[BoliDan]

4 hours ago, ha_banos said:

38.95£!!! (49$) And 31.95£ (40$) for the judge. Which puts these firmly in line with the likes of a D4. Not even going to bother to try now. Maybe if someone is traveling from the United States. 

Yeah, I couldn't recommend it at those prices. 

[SCgarman]

4 hours ago, ha_banos said:

38.95£!!! (49$) And 31.95£ (40$) for the judge. Which puts these firmly in line with the likes of a D4. Not even going to bother to try now. Maybe if someone is traveling from the United States. 

That may be London price. I paid 13usd per stick for the Judge, Cigar of the year. I suppose import duties/UK taxes are a killer. Someone is making a killer profit in the markup! Here in US a full box is on average $275. But they are now sold out everywhere. Personally I'd buy a box of these versus a $600usd box of PSD4. But we all have our own personal R.O.I. when it comes to buying cigars.

[Bagman]

Great review. I probably won't get a chance to try one. Haven't had a 60 gauge cigar in my life. CA used to give harsh reviews on large rg's, but they clearly like them now. I may have to try one at some point.

[DrinkSmokeGolf]

CA Cigar of the year is a complete joke. A 60rg at #1? Are you kidding me? 

[Ford2112]

I saw some of these at the local B and M today. I bought a Padron 64 and an Oliva Melanio instead. I had to laugh at the size, in fact all of the My Father cigars they had were larger RG than I care to smoke. It is a brand that has yet to resonate with me.

[Arabian]

The box comes with a note that says, WARNING: people may look at you strangely, proceed at your own risk. 

[SCgarman]

7 hours ago, Ford2112 said:

I saw some of these at the local B and M today. I bought a Padron 64 and an Oliva Melanio instead. I had to laugh at the size, in fact all of the My Father cigars they had were larger RG than I care to smoke. It is a brand that has yet to resonate with me.

They do have a 6x52 Pyramid in the Le Bijou 1922, so there are some reasonable sizes. But many jawbreaker sizes also. Obviously geared towards the USA market. They would not make them unless somebody was buying.

[VeguerosMAN]

Damn, My Father Cigars won Cigar of the Year 3 times now. If they win one more, they are tied with Padron.

[SirVantes]

Lots of expected remarks about the ring gauge of the winner.

Idle thought: Is the ring gauge of a cigar pertinent to whether it is judged a good/best/bestest cigar? If it can be too big to be good, can it be too small to be good?

So, question: is it realistic to think that a panel of tasters will ever vote as the best cigar a panatella, a short panatella, a petit corona or even a lancero? I know some of us, individually, might. But a panel with democratic, disparate opinions?

[Li Bai]

7 hours ago, SirVantes said:

So, question: is it realistic to think that a panel of tasters will ever vote as the best cigar a panetella, a small panetella, a petit corona or even a lancero? I know some of us, individually, might. But a panel with democratic, disparate opinions?

Fwiw I think an all-European panel of tasters might really well vote a Lancero or a Lonsdale as best cigar, I don't think they'd vote a 60rg cigar.

CA does this list for his American audience in the first place and -I mean no offense - us European cigar smokers were born and raised with CCs, big RGs barely existed for us a few years ago and still don't appeal much to a lot of us, well that's the case in my cigar community at least.

[SCgarman]

7 hours ago, VeguerosMAN said:

Damn, My Father Cigars won Cigar of the Year 3 times now. If they win one more, they are tied with Padron.

They have rose up from nothing. Jose Pepin Garcia left Cuba in the early 2000's and started small in Miami. He is a grade 8 master roller and is also considered a master blender. Sounds like the company is all vertically integrated. They own/grow their own tobacco in Nicaragua, own their own factory. Pepin's son Jaime created the blends for the My Father line as a tribute to his father, so he has become an epic tobacco blender in his own right. They are definitely on par with Padron and Fuente. If you check out their site, the pics of their cigar factory are amazing, from the fancy floors, to everything else. It is a first class operation all the way. The dilapidated, crude factories in Havana are a stark contrast.

[Cigar Surgeon]

14 hours ago, SCgarman said:

Is this different from the regular Le Bijou 1922? Or same?

Quite different, in a good way. More sophisticated and balanced. 

11 hours ago, SCgarman said:

That may be London price. I paid 13usd per stick for the Judge, Cigar of the year. I suppose import duties/UK taxes are a killer. Someone is making a killer profit in the markup! Here in US a full box is on average $275. But they are now sold out everywhere. Personally I'd buy a box of these versus a $600usd box of PSD4. But we all have our own personal R.O.I. when it comes to buying cigars.

Atlantic Cigar, I just ordered some fivers Friday.